African Leadership in ICT Needs Analysis South Africa - GeSCI

White Paper on e‐Education, to turn South African schools into centres of quality
learning and teaching for the 21st century. 15
Education ICT Policies & Initiatives
Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are central to the changes taking place
throughout the world. Digital media has‐revolutionised the information society‐and advances in
ICTs have dramatically changed the learning and teaching process. This has opened up new
learning opportunities and provided access to educational resources beyond those traditionally
available. The provision of a telecommunication infrastructure available for learning and
teaching is gradually increasing, and many schools are exploiting the benefits of ICTs to enhance
the quality of teaching and learning.
South Africa has a strategy for information and communication technologies in education
developed in 2001. The strategy recognises that revolution in information and communication
technologies presents three major challenges in the education system globally. These
challenges are: participation in the information society, how ICT impacts on access, cost
effectiveness and quality of education; and how ICT affects the education system.
In the South African context, the concept of e‐Education revolves around the‐use of ICTs to
accelerate the achievement of national education goals. E‐education is about connecting
learners and teachers to each other and to professional support services, and providing
platforms for learning. E‐education is aimed at connecting learners and teachers to
information, ideas and to one another via effective combinations of pedagogy and technology in
support of educational reform.
The government released a draft white e‐education paper in 2004 under gazette notice 1869
titled “Transforming Learning and Teaching through Information and Communication
Technologies (ICTs)” The paper notes that the introduction of ICTs to schools creates, new ways
for students and teachers to engage in information selection, gathering, sorting and analysis. In
addition, it acknowledges that ICTs have the potential to enhance the management and
administrative capacity of schools. The White Paper sets out Government's response to a new
information and communication technology environment in education.
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